Canadian ambassador to Moscow on Russia's participation in G-8 meetings

Russia's participation in G-8 meetings is becoming increasingly important both for the forum in general and for Canada in particular, Canadian ambassador to Russia Rodney Irving said at a Moscow conference on the eve of the G-8 summit. According to the ambassador, over the 10 years of contacts with the forum Russia has passed a long way from being a side observer to becoming an honoured partner in the work to build a stable international system and to attain other common goals. Today the G-8 which includes Russia has an opportunity to come out with decisive actions as regards topical issues which it was earlier hard to solve," Irving said. The Canadian diplomat laid a particular stress on the fact that this year marked the 7th anniversary of Russia's large-scale participation in the so-called G-8 process. According to Ottawa, Russia's contribution to this political process within the forum's framework "has already been highest praised," the ambassador concluded.